The heart of your car is its engine. When this part has problems, you want to pay attention and get them resolved before any major damage occurs. Knowing when you need to call a mechanic who can do some engine troubleshooting and what the engine light means on your instrument panel can provide peace of mind when things go wrong.

From adding power steering fluid to checking and adding antifreeze, there are a few things you can do yourself to maintain the life of your engine. The tips here will help you complete some of these basics along with some reasons your engine is having problems.

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Engine Repairs' topic. Click the article''s title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

   Adding Power Steering Fluid
If you have power steering in your car then you know how helpful this feature can be. However, it is necessary to occasionally add some power steering fluid to your car. Luckily, it's not hard, just do this.

   Changing Your Engine Oil
Basic engine maintenance is an absolute necessity. What isn't necessary is to pay the high cost that comes with having a professional do the job. Changing your engine oil is an easy (though often messy) job that anyone can do. Here's how.

   Diagnosing Engine Problems
For many people, one of the more embarrassing things to try and explain to a mechanic is an unknown engine problem. Instead of sitting around making funny noises, why not learn how to identify the problem instead? Diagnosing engine problems is remarkably easy since you just need to know where to start.

   Overheating Cars
There are a number of reasons that could cause your car to overheat. If you notice the temperature gauge heading toward "hot" or a warning light flickering on, you might want to pay attention to the ideas in this tip.

   What is a Serpentine Belt?
What is a serpentine belt? After all, it is one of those pieces of equipment that most mechanics check when the vehicle is brought in for service. Considering the overall importance of this piece of equipment, the answer will surprise you.

   What is the Check Engine Light?
There are several different types of check engine lights. What each of them means can be a little confusing for a new driver. Here is a brief rundown on what different common lights are, and how to make them go away.

   Why You Need Antifreeze
To the experienced gear head, it might sound rather silly to ask the question of: Why do you need antifreeze? Whether you have been too embarrassed to ask, or you never thought about it, here is the answer to that question.